If you are looking for a deadly weapon against 1.e4, the Kalashnikov Sicilian could well be your best choice!
The Kalashnikov is a special opening were theoretical knowledge plays an important role. It’s in 1834 that the French champion Labourdonnais played 4...e5 for the first time. But the Kalashnikov is a decidedly modern opening.
That’s why the opening only started gaining in popularity in the late 1980’s, in particular thanks to the famous Russian grandmaster Evgeny Sveshnikov. Ever since, many top level players have added it to their repertoire: Pavel Tregubov, Alexei Fedorov, Etienne Bacrot, Alexander Moiseenko and Teimour Radjabov.
Grandmasters Cornette and Libiszewski always thought that the Kalashnikov, which promises Black dynamic compensation in exchange for the apparent weakness of the d5 square and the backwards d6 pawn, was not well-known enough and that its potential was underestimated.

If you are looking for a deadly weapon against 1.e4, the Kalashnikov Sicilian could well be your best choice! The Kalashnikov is a special opening were theoretical knowledge plays an important role. That’s why the opening only started gaining in popularity in the late 1980’s, in particular thanks to the famous Russian grandmaster Evgeny Sveshnikov. Ever since, many top level players have added it to their repertoire: Pavel Tregubov, Alexei Fedorov, Etienne Bacrot, Alexander Moiseenko and Teimour Radjabov.